The Safety Culture Myth

The "Safety Culture" Myth

Every organization, regardless of size or industry has a culture.  It may be good, bad, mediocre, mature and well established, or just getting started and trying to find itself; but every organization has one.  Much has been written and discussed about safety culture and the various ways it affects business and people; but, in fact, the term “safety culture” is misleading.

When we think of safety culture, among the first things that pop into our heads is safety performance – is it good or bad?  Are people getting hurt, and how is the organization dealing with it?  Do they seek to prevent occurrences with meaningful and sustainable corrective actions and controls, or do they slap a band aid on it and wait for the next one? 

The truth is, “safety culture” is merely a component part of the overall culture for the organization.  Measures intended to improve safety performance cannot be sustained unless there is a concerted effort to implement them in the context of how they will impact the organization as a whole.  Safety ultimately affects every department and division of an organization, and the skills necessary to make meaningful changes in safety are generally the same one’s that lead a company to higher levels of market and financial performance.

Don’t think of safety culture as a stand-alone marker of your business that is somehow independent of everything else you do.  Rather, think of it as one of many components taking its rightful place in the overall makeup of your approach to success – however you define it.